


The Long Stride

by cyclopsBlinder (tereziswife2942)



Series: The Long Stride [1]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/M, Gen, Trojan War, later to become Odysseystuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-07
Updated: 2013-03-05
Packaged: 2017-11-28 12:34:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/674440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tereziswife2942/pseuds/cyclopsBlinder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This was going to originally just be Odysseystuck but I backtracked and started all the way at the beginning of the Trojan War cycle. Haha, oops, this is going to be really long.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Book 1.1

 

The first time Dave Strider saw Feferi Peixes, he knew she wasn’t the one.

She sat in that ridiculous chair on the dais, all bleached bones and what he thought must just be regular paint, not real blood, but wasn't entirely sure. Her back was ramrod straight even though the back of the seat curved nicely, being composed entirely of polished-down spinal cords as it was. Hair tumbled everywhere, artfully wild and interrupted occasionally by little shells and pearls. How they got the things to stay in there he didn’t know – probably some something made of grub guts. Every time you think something’s nice, it turns out to be involved with dead grubs. A circlet lay delicately on her head, dipping at the brow to dangle a jewel fat with the extravagance of seadwellers and a purple he’d never seen before. They said it was her blood, a new color, a blessing from those weird old gods the highbloods were inclined to worship with the unpronounceable names. Go heavy on consonants and light on vowels, pepper some apostrophes in. Rhlf’kh’flu. There, he’d probably just named the god of gillflaps and vengeful murder. But what Dave paid more attention to was the face framed by all this royal ostentation: eyes perfectly rounded, nose aquiline, lips full and plastered in a benign smile. The perfect lady’s poker face. She had an easy tell, though; gaze darting quickly back and forth wherever the highest and most influential nobles were gathered chattering, a few lines crinkled at the corners of that smile indicating the effort she was expending to keep it from slipping into a studious frown. He had to commend her on the eyes, though. It had always been difficult for even him to make them belie his real intentions. He already felt wary of her, and then she stood up – well, more like floated up honestly – and began her circle around the room. Dave decided to lean casually against a pillar. No need to make himself her first visit; he’d rather observe her interactions with the other nobles more oblivious to her wit and then compare.

“Looker, ain’t she?” A gravelly voice interrupted his inner machinations. He didn’t bother looking up; he knew who it was by sound and the deep blue-purple hovering in his periphery. His gaze remained trained on Peixes.

“I suppose, lord Makara,” he replied, as flippant as one could be towards the greatest military power in all the Alternian nobility without risking his head directly. “Doesn’t really matter though.” She was giggling as a purpleblood kissed her hand wetly and blushing when he moved his lips against her knuckles to say something. _You are the loveliest thing I have ever seen, my lady Peixes. A goddess, brought to us by the great Flu’death’n’blood_ , he inserted. Probably pretty close; seadweller nobles were predictable as hell. _Oh my good sir, you flatter me too much_ , _all of you do!_ he dubbed as those lips moved and she gestured at the other lords gathered around who were busy glaring holes in the purple’s back at his presumption, but then started and began bowing and scraping at the mention. _How shall I ever choose between you all if you make it so difficult?_ Then her mouth stilled in a charming little moue. She was good.

“Why’s that, lord Strider?” Gamzee questioned. “Surely you ain’t all and giving up already. You’re the underdog here, maybe she got a thing for that.” Gods, Makara was tolerable mostly, a good leader, but downright painful to listen to sometimes. He’d probably failed a bunch of schoolfeeding lessons but nobody had ever worked up the guts to correct him. That was a wise move, actually; the guy could crush your entire arm with a single overly enthusiastic hand-grip. And by overly enthusiastic, he meant malicious and intent. For all he loved his court jesters and worlds-famous parties, Makara did not play around when it came to violence.

“No, that’s not it, my lord. And not to contradict you, but I have no delusions about my position here. I’m only present out of courtesy. It’s just,” he paused to appreciate the way her eyelashes fluttered just so at a particularly handsome blueblood, “she’s dangerous.”

“Oh?” Dave still hadn’t looked at Gamzee’s face but from the tone he knew his eyebrows were raised skyward. “How so, my fine fireblooded brother?” Fireblooded, that was a nice phrasing. Maybe he should propagandize it that way back home. Burning with glory hard-won in battle, respect your lord or he’ll breathe fire out his nose and roast you and serve you with a side of grubchips. Etcetera.

“She is court intrigue on legs, and you know it,” he shot back. Oh, she wasn’t as interested in the ceruleanblood. Preferred to be as near her own color as possible? Well, the troll wasn’t very distinguished anyways, he guessed by the tiny smattering of medals across his chest. Who knew? He would, once he got his turn with the lady. “All this new blood color and seadweller stuff has got everybody foaming at the mouth. Anything happens to her, she does anything out of the ordinary, she so much as gets her finger nicked – the froth turns into a bloodbath.”

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking so much myself,” Makara admitted, lower. “This fine pink-purple sister is all up and being a liability. You got any ideas, Strider?”

She was making her way closer now. Just a few more uninteresting characters and Peixes was his to face off with. “A few, just gotta get my head wrapped all the way around the situation,” he muttered, now turning to Gamzee to disguise his interest, or at least make it look less like marking a target and more like lovestruck obsession.

“Brother, you have got your mind tangled up in this motherfucking situation all clever-like, I know you do, you always do,” he whispered and stared Dave down. Makara was always one to see easily through him, although not lent naturally to as much mental acrobatics as he was. “You just wanna get your tentacles wrapped around Peixes’ mind first.”

“Gross. What do I look like, a seadweller?” he snapped back, rapid fire. It was cheeky, but Makara liked cheeky, at least from him. He just snickered and then shifted his gaze to Feferi Peixes as she glided towards the two of them.

“My lady Feferi,” Makara said warmly. “It’s good to see you being all comfortable and enjoying this fine motherfucking company.” Dave was surprised to see her lips twitch upwards involuntarily, but she seemed to recover and smooth it into a low-wattage smile. Amusement at his speech patterns, perhaps?

“Thank you, my lord Makara,” she replied, tilting her head a bit and bringing her hands up to clasp together demurely. “I certainly do not lack for stimulating conversation.” Oh, that _had_ to be sarcasm. She was underestimating Makara and his grasp on the situation, he’d catch that. The troll had borne the heavy, bland onus of court interactions since the day he was hatched. And sure enough, his face split into a wide grin.

“Well that is just all kinds of motherfucking wonderful and I am happy as can be for you, lady Peixes,” he beamed at her. It was pretty terrifying actually. Though not a seadweller, Gamzee had incisors like you wouldn’t believe.

“Now lord Makara, I must assume that you are here on some other business than courtship, though.” She had changed tack now. Polite but getting to the point. “Unless you’ve decided you want another matesprit! Oh my, wouldn’t that be scandalous.” She raised a hand to her mouth and pretended to smother a giggle. Dave was in holy terror of this woman.

Makara was impressed, too. He didn’t think it was possible for that smile to get bigger but there it went. “Of course not, my lady Peixes,” he laughed. Gamzee’s laugh was like someone shaking a shoebox full of rocks vigorously and with purpose. “I’m here on the behalf of a brother by the name of Equius Zahhak. He couldn’t up and attend this lovely motherfucking event being otherwise preoccupied as he is currently with some business of state and suchlike. But he up and sent me with some gifts for your most motherfucking enchanting personage and a message. It will of course be being all my honor to deliver it directly to yourself later on tonight.”

“Ah, yes, lord Zahhak!” she exclaimed. “It’s such a shame he couldn’t make it, I was rather excited to see him in person. I mean, he’s got quite a reputation. Almost as big as yours, lord Makara!” She smiled again, still low-watt. Dave could tell she was holding it back, most likely to seem more innocent and less sharklike. Bloodthirsty. Seadweller. A royalblood smile was often more a threat than show of good faith.

“Yeah, Eq – lord Zahhak’s an upstanding motherfucker,” Gamzee replied. He knew and Dave knew that Feferi had meant more than that by “reputation”, but calling attention to it would have been gauche. “But so is Dave here. Lord Dave Strider of Eithaka, lady Feferi Peixes.” He made the appropriate gestures at both of them and nodded sagely, moving just a half-step back to indicate that the conversation was to focus on Dave now and not Equius Zahhak, the second most distinguished troll in the Alternian military, holder of nearly as many lands and honorary titles as Gamzee. As if there was even a contest. But manners were manners, and customs must be honored, so Feferi inclined her head towards him.

“It’s an honor to make your acquaintance,” she said, all fake warmth and soft smiles. Dave knew there was nothing but cold underneath, her blood ran ice, purportedly even lower than purplebloods. “I’ve heard much about your exploits. It’s nice to meet another off-spectrum troll as well!” Peixes’ eyes bored into his. He could practically feel them sliding all over his shockingly red irises, like the slimy tentacles of one of the gods of which she was a devotee. He had been thinking far too much about tentacles this night. This was why he didn’t want to come to this ridiculous sham of a courtship event. It was obvious who she would pick – or at least, he knew who he would pick were he in her place. Dave briefly registered that Gamzee had turned away to chat with another nobletroll. Probably wanted give the mutants time to each other.

“Likewise, my lady. You are just as beautiful as the rumors say, and a great deal more charming,” he replied. He had put just the slightest emphasis on charming, which said _I’m on to you, Peixes. Your move._

“Goodness gracious, you’re quite the charmer yourself!” she tittered, fluttering her eyelashes a bit and then settling with her lids lowered and eyes peering through. It would have looked flirtatious to an outsider but it meant something entirely different. “So, tell me, lord Strider. Why are you here?”

There it was. She knew his game and she was playing it just as well as he was. Possibly better, he wasn’t sure yet. “I was invited,” Dave answered simply. Now the clincher. “And events like these are important to attend both out of obligation and an interest in the political climate.” The delivery was the same as before – flippant, congenial – but he was revealing a card. Well, part of a card, really. It was worth it, because her lips twitched a bit and those eyes narrowed just a millimeter or so.

“Lord Strider, are you implying that you aren’t interested in me?” There was that moue from before. “I must say, that’s a little hurtful. Ah! But perhaps you have a matesprit already, like lord Makara.” That was a test. _I understand you’re showing your cards to me, but I know you have other motivations too._ Dave was scaring himself a little with how much he was enjoying this. That gut feeling of not-right when he had first set eyes on her now felt fully justified, though. She’d rip him to shreds with those seadweller teeth and spit out the pieces. He pitied the poor fellow who got saddled with her along with the constant surveillance of hundreds of nobles. 

“I don’t, my lady. I merely consider myself unworthy of your attentions. Oh, and the burning resentment of most of the Alternian nobility isn’t my cup of tea, either.” He allowed himself to smirk up at her at that. Peixes’ brows now drew together.

“Do you have some sort of aim during your visit at all, then?” The inquiry was a bit sharper than the others but still polite and spoken gently. She wanted to know what he had in mind. Peixes clearly was aware of his status as the brains behind half the Alternian military’s conquests in the last five sweeps, and now that he had revealed his disinterest in courting her, she was certain there must be another reason there.

“Not really. I mostly wish to keep you safe, lady Peixes. Losing the greatest beauty in the universe would be tragic.” I wish to keep you safe meaning _I wish to keep Alternia safe and the nobles from ripping each other apart_ , of course. The meaning was evidently conveyed well enough judging by the way understanding lifted her brows apart and smoothed her smile out into its usual gentle mien.

“Greatest beauty in the universe! _Goodness_ , lord Strider, you have a silver tongue indeed.” Then Peixes grinned at him. Grinned, not smiled. She was in on the game, that said. But was she playing the same side? Dave had a feeling she had a side all of her own invention. A troll woman that beautiful and intelligent, that aware of her position, wouldn’t be satisfied with just having the pick of the noble class, wouldn’t accept the status quo, would want to do _something_. She had plans, but of what sort and to what end he couldn’t divine. He used to feel like that too. _Uh oh, let’s stop that thought there, Strider._ He didn’t want to sympathize with the scary seadweller lady, he might start feeling attracted to her and that was not a road he wanted to travel down at all.

 


	2. 1.2

As Dave emerged from his thoughts and tried to focus back on the woman standing in front of him, he suddenly realized that there was no longer anyone there. He blinked. Still no sharp-witted troll lady. He swiveled his head to the side. There she was, her back to him now, making nice with one of the more distinguished officers. “Seriously?” he muttered. Well, he guessed she had gleaned all the information she wanted, so the conversation had been deemed over.

“What’s wrong, brother?” Gamzee suddenly piped up, now beside him once again. “Didn’t like what you saw?”

“Well, I did and I didn’t, but that’s not what I was angry about. The lady Peixes decided to just walk away in the middle of our very elucidating conversation.” Makara grinned at this and laughed. At least someone was getting amusement out of this.

“That’s pretty cold. Fishsister up and concluded that your talk was over without your motherfucking consent. Girl’s motherfucking resplendent all but her bloodpusher seems about as warm as permafrost.” Dave smiled a little bit at that. Gamzee’s way of speaking was so often laden with technical errors, but he was quite well-read and often dropped million-caegar words into the clusterfucks that were his sentences. He was also absentminded and would forget the word for certain things and replace them with literati terms, such as bloodpusher. Many of the nobles had started to pick this up, probably hoping to impress; just yesterday Dave had heard lord Gorgon refer to his bathroom as the “ablution trap.” This was all especially hilarious because out of public eye Gamzee was one of the most casual, easygoing people Dave knew and not wont to appreciate such attempts at currying favor.

“I’d guessed that already, but I suppose I just experienced the brunt of it,” he replied. “Anyways, regarding ideas, I believe I’ve narrowed it down a bit. I think it’d be wise if you said something to the order of ‘If any of you dispute the choice or stir up shit I’m going to bring the full wrath of the Makaras down on you’ at the banquet tonight. It makes sense, you’re her broodsister’s matesprit after all. And as the most powerful person here, they’re bound to listen to you.”

“Sounds like a damn good idea, Strider.” Makara nodded gravely. His eyes were clouded with careful consideration. “I don’t know if it will all and motherfucking impress them of the full implications of their motherfucking objections though. Nobles are near impossible to whip into solidarity.”

Dave nodded at this. It was a point he had already considered. “You may have to take some other action as well. I’m not sure yet. We’ll just have to see how the banquet goes.”

“Mhm,” Gamzee agreed. “Brother, I sure as motherfuck do wish you could be seated near me. It’d be great to have your input during the proceedings, and as it stands I’m gonna be between Peixes and her broodfather so like as be I’ll spend the night alternately being intimidated and bored out of my motherfucking skull.”

“I wish that as well, lord,” was Dave’s reply. He wanted to say that he didn’t resent always being at the far end of the table and the back of the room at every event since it allowed him to observe and machinate, but the truth was, as much as he bluffed on the outside, it really did rankle. Makara was partially aware of this even though Dave had never made his feelings known directly to him. If he could, he’d told him once, he’d give him all he’d truly earned: titles, land, honors. As it was he had been stretching it when he’d granted him both a lordship and Eithaka.

\---

“Strider, you’ve been staring over the rim of your cup this whole time,” a voice next to him said. “I know the lady Feferi is enchanting, but surely you can spare a glance to your food, or maybe even your tablemates!” Ugh, this douche. Didn’t even bother adding the lord in front – no, he thought himself far above Dave. Which he was, but that didn’t make it any less obnoxious.

“I just can’t take my eyes off her, Gregor,” he pretended to bemoan, waving his wine cup beneath his chin a bit. “She’s absolutely splendid. A rube like me hasn’t got a chance with her, but here I am, acting like a redstruck wiggler.” His gaze remained locked onto Peixes. She was engaging with Makara now, who tried to appear as if he was enjoying the conversation but failed. Guy needed to work on his acting skills now that he was at the top of the food chain.

“Aw, don’t get so down on yourself, buddy,” Gregor tried to reassure him emptily. “You’ve got a certain…rugged charm. Ladies go for that. Heh.” This nobletroll was completely thickheaded. Anyone who didn’t have rocks rolling around in their skull instead of brains knew who Feferi and her broodfather were aiming for. To think that Peixes would choose based on looks or charm was absolutely ridiculous. This courtship was a sham, only arranged to keep the nobles pacified and for Peixes’ greedy broodfamily to suck up as much attention and wealth as possible from this situation. They had been fairly low on the chain, producing mostly greens and blues. The only reason Makara had even met Leijon was because Zahhak had introduced her to him as his moirail. But, he’d been taken with her, and a Makara gets what he wants, especially now that he had so many holdings and victories under his belt. Peixes had been too young at the time, and Makara had refused the family’s offer anyways. Oh, her broodfather was standing up now. About to make a speech, perhaps?

“My noble lords,” he began, “I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for attending. It has been a most enjoyable banquet, I think, but Feferi grows tired and so it is with much sadness that I announce the end of this night. The decision will be announced tomorrow evening. Sleep well, all.” Really, already? Maybe Peixes was worried that someone would stir up some trouble if it went on any later and the nobles got any drunker. She was likely right, but the problem was that Makara hadn’t made his announcement-slash-threat yet. As everyone rose and began to mill about, heading out to either their bedrooms or lodgings nearby the palace, Gamzee still sat, looking lost. Dave was bothered too, but he stood anyways and began to walk towards the head of the table to discuss alternate plans.

However, the general noise of mumbled conversations was interrupted unexpectedly by a loud shriek. In fact, Dave realized it was Peixes, trying to hold off an extremely inebriated blueblood as he began to snake his arms around her waist. Makara shot up, lurched towards the two, pulled his dirk from its sheath at his waist, and promptly sank it right into the nobletroll without so much as a ‘motherfucker.’ This was all in the blink of an eye – Gamzee was one fast troll, could probably keep up with Dave if they ever fought. Not that he ever wanted to risk that. There was a delay of a couple seconds while everyone took in what had just transpired, and then general chaos blossomed into effect. As soon as he’d seen Gamzee move, Dave had begun to walk towards the head of the table, and once he reached it, he pulled his own knife out. He tapped Makara on the shoulder, who turned towards him with a wide-eyed glance.

“Strider,” he said simply, “Fix it. Please.” He didn’t have to ask twice. Dave grabbed the gasping blueblood and dragged him out of the crowd. Everyone parted for them, even though he was getting glares and horrified looks. He then pushed the guy onto the dais. He was pretty much done for already; Makara had gotten him right through the heart. So Dave did the logical thing to do in this situation: he drove his own knife right back into the wound and pulled down sharply, making a clean cut to the pelvis. Blood leaked everywhere on the troll’s shirt and pants, and as Dave wrenched the knife sideways, he got a nice view of his guts. He wrenched it the other way until viscera was spilling all over and the inside of his chest was visible to everyone. Then he dropped the corpse to the ground and re-sheathed his knife. He made eye contact with Makara; he looked completely baffled but his eyes still said _I trust you, Strider._

_I got this, man,_ Dave thought at him. He planted a foot right in the troll’s chest. There was a nice, loud squelching sound. Perfect. Raising his right hand and placing the other over his heart, Dave opened his mouth and began to speak.

“I, lord Dave Strider of Eithaka, pledge my loyalty to the Alternia and all she stands for. I swear by the gods old and new to support and protect the lady Feferi Peixes, along with the troll she chooses as matesprit. May the gods take my soul if I break this oath.” As he finished, he made special care to keep his expression stoic and focused. Makara, on the other hand, was beaming so bright at Dave that he thought his skin would peel from the intensity any moment now. He removed his foot from the troll’s ribcage and stepped to the side. He clasped his clammy hands behind his back.

No one was taking the cue yet, likely all too shocked at what had just transpired. Makara took it upon himself to be the next oathtaker, loping up and repeating it verbatim with his own name and titles inserted. This opened the gates: noble after noble rushed up to the dais and swore on the lifeless corpse of one of their brethren. The message was gruesomely clear.  

“You did good, brother,” Makara whispered into Dave’s ear, still standing up on the dais beside him. “You didn’t just fix it, you made it motherfucking work with our plans. Shit’s downright conniving, Strider.”

“Of course it is,” he whispered back. “Who do you think you’re talking to? I’m Dave motherfucking Strider. Conniving’s my middle name. As is motherfucking, apparently.” Makara snickered and slapped his shoulder, congratulatory. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, to elaborate on the thing with Gamzee and the fancy words: the use of his overcomplicated slang spreads throughout the Alternian Empire. The nobles take it home with them and it spreads everywhere, not just high society. And after he dies and this generation of nobles passes away (a lot of them die in the war anyways) the use of the words fade out of use in high society and then it basically flips around to become the mark of commoners to use that terminology rather than highbloods. Just a little theory I wanted to insert.


	3. 1.3

 

“I could arrange something else for you,” Peixes’ broodfather said over a cup of honeyed wine. The two of them – Makara had retired to his chambers, claiming exhaustion – stood in the cellars, where the older man had taken Dave on the pretense of showing off his vast and impressively varied collection of alcoholic drinks. “You know. On the side. I’ve got a hatchbrother who died a few sweeps back and bequeathed his holdings to me, which included his brood.”

“Oh? And did you have a specific one in mind?” Dave asked. He was well aware of Dareus’ brother’s brood; it had been in the briefing Makara had sent him, along with a list of every other living being in the palace. Dareus’ wife had two turtles, William and Mary, and a cuttlefish, Gandhi, which was known to have a particularly ornery disposition.

“Actually, yes! Jade would be perfect, you both have – erm – unusual circumstances, and she’s always been a little disconnected from the rest of us, I think she’ll be overjoyed to have someone she can finally relate to.” Dareus grinned at him, the effects of the wine written all over his face. Jade Harley, he obviously meant. He remembered reading about her, but there was nothing mentioned about _unusual circumstances._ Did she have a mutation that the family was keeping secret? In truth, it was insulting that Dareus would suggest a troll would connect with him just because they were both mutants or didn’t fit in with the rest of the noble crowd, but he would be ill-mannered to refuse such an enthusiastic recommendation. It certainly beat hanging around the palace for a week only to walk out with nothing. Why not gain a matesprit out of the deal?

 

“All right,” he replied. “So when can I meet her?” Dareus’ smile grew wider still and Dave summoned up one of his own in reply. It was strained, but the darkness of the cellar and Dareus’ inebriation hid that well enough.

 

* * *

 

The first word out of her mouth was “No.” The second was also, funny enough, no. And the third. The fourth, in a surprise twist, was “Hell,” the fifth “fucking,” and then our old friend “NO” back again for an encore round.

“Jade! Language,” Dareus pleaded, shifting his eyes back and forth from her to Dave in an attempt to gauge exactly how much she’d screwed the situation up. Dareus was mistaken. This was the best possible way it could have unfolded. He’d been dealing with simpering nobles and aggression couched in pleasantries and inane small talk for an entire week; outright hostility was a blessing, like he was the dry Alternian plain and she was a green-eyed thunderstorm sweeping overhead.

Those green eyes, though. Dave now knew what Dareus had been alluding to the night before. Jade wasn’t exactly a mutant, but her blood was rare enough for people to consider her off-spectrum. “A limeblood, huh,” he said, not to anyone in particular, but both Dareus and Jade reacted, his face brightening at a more acceptable topic of conversation to pursue and hers scrunching up, painting another layer of anger onto her already-furious features.

“Yes, that’s correct! I suppose you were expecting a jadeblood from her name, heh. There was a little confusion when she was born, since none of her line had ever even seen a lime before, they just thought she was an oddly electric shade of mid-green!” The speech had a rehearsed feel to it. No doubt he’d explained this a million times over to every visitor, to every possible suitor, to every wary noble feeling threatened by her unusual color.

“I like it,” Dave declared. “Jade the limeblood. The subversion of expectation is good, and the fact that her broodparents just fucking named her after her supposed blood color instead of coming up with a name with some actual thought behind it is even better.” Dareus grimaced at this but chuckled nonetheless. Jade’s eyebrows twitched in surprise and maybe a little amusement but quickly returned to their violently scrunched position.

“My broodparents were wonderful people and I’ll thank you to keep your thoughts on my name to yourself, _lord_ ,” she snapped, practically hissing his title.

“Why thank you for that, I wasn’t aware that you were hostile to me yet, the mockery of my title really just made it sink in. Not like all the no’s tumbling from your mouth the moment you locked eyes with me tipped me off.” Dave smirked at her and she honest-to-god growled at him. She really was like a force of nature, all bluster and exuberance, not bothering to hold anything back. He allowed himself to sweep his gaze over her, telling himself it was just because it’d anger her even further. Wild curls were everywhere, much like Feferi’s, but these were not carefully primped, just went wherever they willed. Short, thick horns that bowed inwards and came to a point, not unlike that of a woofbeast’s, and of course those wild electric green eyes, scrunched with determination and beaming _I hate you I hate you go away_ so hard he didn’t need psychic powers to pick it up. He wondered what limeblood powers even entailed; he’d heard plenty of rumors, but no one spreading the rumors had ever actually seen one.

“I’m sorry, she’s just a little wary around strangers,” Dareus cut in. “She’s not really even gotten used to living here yet, I’m afraid, although we’ve done our best to accommodate. My hatchbrother was a more adventurous man than myself and took to the wilderness. Didn’t even have a proper palace, just built his home around a cave system. Very impressive, but not conducive to the upbringing of nobility.”

“I don’t care about nobility!” Jade spat. “I don’t care about your ridiculous court intrigue either, and I’d thank you very kindly to leave me out of this. I have no desire to wed to anyone! And I can’t believe that you suggested we would take to one another just because we’re both mutants, as if I can’t be a part of _normal_ society because I’m just soooo freaky and scary and so I should just be hidden away with some other aberration to hide my shame! Gods, uncle, the presumptions you work under are just unbelievable!” Normally Dave might agree with her, but he was actually invested in the “trolls who mutate together stay together” line of thought for now since it might work out in his favor for once in his godsforsaken life.

“Oh my, Jade, I didn’t mean it like that at all!” he cried, and Dave could see that there was sincerity in his words. The troll didn’t mean to be hurtful, he merely didn’t understand their point of view, and how could he? He just thought he could finally make his kin happy and reward Dave at the same time. And here the situation was backfiring on him faster than one of Makara’s old-model battleships that ran on oil. “I just thought that you two would at least have something in common, since you always tell me that you have nothing at all to discuss with the other nobletrolls I’ve introduced.” At this Jade sighed and her brow seemed to smooth a little bit.

“Uncle, I don’t want to do this. I’m not interested in being married off at all. Please.” The exhortation was low, much calmer than everything else she’d said so far.

“I really think you’d benefit from it, my dear,” Dareus answered. “Just…give him a chance, all right? You at least sat to dinner with the nobletrolls before; you’ve not even so much as had a conversation with lord Strider yet. Do it for your broodfather. He’d want you to find happiness.” They both grew somber at this.

“I – all right. But if I refuse, you can’t go through with a betrothal! You have no right to treat me like chattel to be wed to the most convenient troll; at least give me a say in the matter.” Dareus nodded gravely and walked over to squeeze her hand.

“Thank you, Jade dear. I’ve arranged a private dinner for you two, since I know how you hated my meddling at the others. Is that acceptable?” He looked at both Dave and Jade.

“Yes, I suppose,” she sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose, as if the whole altercation had left her with a migraine. Perhaps it really had. If she was some kind of psychic, she would be more affected by emotionally volatile situations than the average troll.

 

“Fine by me,” Dave agreed. She snapped her gaze to him, still regarding him with undisguised hostility, but it seemed to be of a lower grade than before.

* * *

 

“I must tell you now that I have absolutely no intention of being your political consolation prize,” Jade said after they'd cut into the cluckbeast. “I am merely doing this to satiate Dareus.”

Dave smiled at her. “That’s perfectly understandable. I know that you must dislike being treated this way, and to be honest, I only complied with his offer because he hasn’t got land or riches to be handing off like it’s twelfth perigee’s eve and he’s St. Ny’kohl’ayes.” At this, Jade merely narrowed her eyes.

“So you’re putting me at the same level as land and riches? I am merely a material good to be handed around?” The jaunty tilt to her head was an invitation to spar verbally, Dave knew. It wasn’t like Peixes’ sparring, hidden behind screens of propriety, but offering one’s true thoughts directly to the other party to be rebutted. It was almost more frightening than Peixes’ because with subtlety he could keep his innermost feelings hidden. Proffering his honest opinions came with the side effect of some of those slipping through, and that made Dave feel vulnerable as hell. But perhaps that made it all the more exhilarating.

“No, I simply meant that I had to be polite and go with whatever Dareus suggested as a reward,” he finally replied. “To insult the family of Peixes and her future noble husband would be political suicide for a lowly troll like me, made only noble in name and by the grace of the highbloods.”

“So?” she charged on. “Who cares? If you’re as lowly as you say, why does political intrigue even matter? Just pull out of the game. It’s awful and stupid anyways, believe me.”

“Oh, I’m aware of its true nature. Don’t worry yourself over that, lady Harley. But I work for the glory of Alternia. I’d be perfectly fine to just hover behind the scenes, but unfortunately being involved in our mother nation’s exploits as much as I am necessitates involvement in the upper circles. You can’t be important to Alternia if you’re not a nobletroll, at least that’s what they believe, and since I seem to refute that, they made me a noble. I mean, if they didn’t, imagine what could happen! It’d imply that any old troll could distinguish himself in the military beyond just getting himself run through on the point of a sword, and that any old troll could merit himself land as reward. And wouldn’t that just be ludicrous? Nay, even heretical, if you view the nobility as a religion, which it practically is.”

Jade swilled her wine in the cup a bit. Her expression was a mixture of things, some of which he couldn’t make out, but he definitely saw surprise, disturbance, and a little bit of grudging respect in there. “You’re more…self-aware than I’d been led to believe,” she said after a long pause. “I figured you were just so overjoyed at the granting of a noble title that you ignored everything problematic with the system, but you don’t. But – why? Why do you accept them looking down on you like that? The way the system is set up to never truly recognize you, no matter how much you prove your worth?”

“It’s easier to just work with the system.” He shrugged easily and downed some of his own drink. “I mean, what am I going to do, start my own army and conquer in the name of Alternia? No, they’d try to cull me for insurrection, which would lead to infighting. I don’t want that. Alternia is more than the nobles. It’s every lowblood, every midblood, and – every sentient being on every planet we’ve gotten our fingers into.” At this Jade’s eyebrows took a hike all the way up her forehead. Dave was well aware that this was nigh treasonous talk, but at this point he was almost desperate to impress this girl, with her knowledge of things beyond her assigned sphere and her badly suppressed desire to break through that sphere into realms unknown for a noble ladytroll. Gods, what would things be like if she’d been in Feferi’s place? No, he told himself, he didn’t know Feferi’s full intentions – if anything, she could be similar to Jade, just covered under heaps of nobletroll sentiment that might not even be genuine.  

“All right,” she said slowly. “I suppose I can accept that. But listen here, mister,” and now she was wagging her finger at him, “you still can’t treat me like a prize to be won! I didn’t spend all this time avoiding politics just to end up like Feferi on a smaller scale.”

“So what were you hoping for? Refusing every troll that tried to curry your favor and…what, escaping back into the wilderness or something? Living here in this palace with your harried uncle and the rest of his obsequious brood?”

She grimaced and finally raised the cup of wine to her lips. A few crude gulps and she lowered it to the table, completely empty. Impressive. “You’re right in that it’s not the ideal situation either way, but I’d rather take my chances here than go off with some troll I don’t even know. At least Dareus cares for me, for all that he’s obsessed with ingratiating himself to the highbloods.”

“Eithaka’s beautiful,” he said abruptly, startling himself as well as Jade. “The – there’s all these tiny islands all over, each one a fucking incredibly varied ecosystem to itself. I haven’t even seen half of them, probably.” He told himself he was just a little drunk, that was it. Jade just stared.

“I think we should conclude our dinner for tonight, lord Strider,” she said, not coldly but not as open as she had been before.

“All right,” Dave replied, and startled himself yet again with the note of disappointment in his voice. Since when was it like him to be this open? Shit, Jade was practically infectious.

She stood up, still starting at him. Softly she said, “But perhaps I can convince Dareus to arrange another one tomorrow night.” Then she crooked a grin at him.

“Yeah,” he agreed, “I would most definitely be amenable to that. Good night to you, lady Harley.”


	4. 1.4

Dareus and Feferi had, predictably, extended the decision-making process, claiming that the weight the oaths had lent it required they handle it even more delicately. Dave was fine with this since he didn’t have to pretend to be swooning over the tyrianblood any longer; instead, each night he met with Jade for a private dinner and they argued in circles about politics and philosophy and any tangents they might come upon. After his third dinner with her, he was in his bedroom and getting ready to sleep – the wine had taken more effect than usual, probably because he’d lost track of how much he was drinking, engrossed in their conversation. He was interrupted by a knock at the door; thinking it was Dareus checking up on progress, he swung the door open. Instead there was the lanky figure of Gamzee, a genial cast to his face.

“Heard that you was up and going after another girl, Strider,” he said before Dave could even get out so much as a polite greeting. “What’s that all being about?”

“You heard right,” Dave replied, and gestured for him to enter. Makara settled himself on the mattress, casual as ever. “Dareus set me up with one of his blood relations as thanks for the whole oath thing.”

“Oh?” Gamzee quirked a brow at him. His interest had been clearly piqued for a while and he was ready to get the dirt on the situation. “What’s she like, brother?”

He leaned back against the door and shrugged. “Name’s Jade Harley. A limeblood, if you’ll believe it. She’s fiery and argumentative and loathes the nobility and the Alternian empire in general. She holds the social graces in contempt and is basically the opposite of a ladytroll. On top of all that, she doesn’t like me.”

“Oh.” Gamzee frowned a little. “I’m sorry?”

“I’m pretty sure I’m in love,” Dave continued, “but your condolence is still appreciated.” Hearing this, the highblood’s expression flashed relieved, then gleeful. Dave was pretty sure that was the fastest reaction he’d ever seen out of the guy.

He waved his hand airily and said “Ah, I got my motherfucking understand on now, brother. That’s sorta how I felt about my girl too. Looks like all them women of Dareus’ father’s blood got some kind of fire in their spirits. Even Peixes, although I’d call hers more a grimdark flame.” That got a chuckle out of Dave. “You said she don’t like you though. How you expecting to win her over?”

“I’m working on it. I mean, she hated me before. Now it’s sort of a grudging respect. Hopefully I can use those wiles of mine to hit an actual rapport sometime this sweep.” 

Gamzee snorted. “Well, good luck with all that. Maybe you’ll even succeed before Dareus makes his motherfucking decision.”

“Gods, yeah, I probably will,” Dave replied. “I don’t know why he’s dragging it out this long. He’s already gotten all the gifts and attention from the nobles he’s gonna get, might as well end the farce now.”

“Dunno. I don’t care as long as a motherfucking riot don’t start up in here. And you took care of that, so the old man can take his sweet time if he wants.” Dave nodded in agreement and found himself yawning. He quickly raised a hand to cover it but Makara obviously noticed, because he then said, “Looks like you need your motherfucking beauty sleep. Allow me to take my leave, brother.”

“Sure thing, lord Makara,” Dave tacked the honorific on at the last second. He should at least pretend he was _trying_ to be respectful, even if neither of them gave a shit when it came down to it. Opening the door, he bowed his head a little bit as Gamzee loped through and into the darkness of the hall. It was weird seeing Gamzee taking such a passive role in things, he thought to himself as he closed the door and immediately set about stripping for bed. The indigoblood was not the type to sit back and conduct from behind the curtains; in battle he was at the front lines, swinging a poleaxe with one hand and bashing heads in with the shield he held in the other. If the other generals tried to convince him it was too dangerous to risk his life directly, he’d just wave them off. A couple times he’d even made bets on his own life. Dave always went in for at least couple hundred caegars on his survival. But, he supposed, this was a situation where it would’ve stirred up too much dissent for a Makara to direct the events – after all, his broodbrother Zahhak was already the obvious choice, so Gamzee would have been immediately accused of bias. Perhaps that was the real reason Equius hadn’t attended – an attempt to make the odds appear equal for the rest of the nobility.

He interrupted his own train of thought by sliding into the rectangular ‘cupe. It was just shallow enough so the sopor came halfway up his chest, leaving his nose and mouth mercifully clear. Accidentally inhaling sopor in the middle of the night sucked, literally. He started to think more about Zahhak and Makara as he shifted around in a vain attempt to reach something resembling comfortable. “Man, shut up,” he mumbled to himself. “You need to stop thinking for once. Get some goddamned sleep. You’re twitchier than Makara after one of those caffeine binges he goes on to get through like thirty strategic meetings in a row. Look like shit, too, that’s not winning you any points with Jade. She probably thinks you’re one of those assholes who never sleeps just because he doesn’t have to more than once a perigee. Not that I haven’t considered doing that, though, day terrors are barely fucking worth the rest. I’m too snappy when I do it though and nobody likes a snappy Dave. Which is why I should go the hell to sleep and stop fucking mologuing to myself.” When he was younger, Dave had a habit of rambling constantly. His brain never stopped and neither could his mouth. He’d soon learned that a mutant shouldn’t air his thoughts out for the world to hear, however, and now he only allowed himself the indulgence when he was certain he was alone. He decided to take his own advice for once and relaxed into the sopor.  

 

* * *

 

It was the fifth banquet. Dave felt like he was at an impasse. Jade didn’t hate him, but she remained unconvinced that he was worth taking a chance on and “buying into the system!!!” A part of him resented her ability to separate herself so fully from Alternia, from all its atrocities in the name of expansion and the betterment of the empire. It wasn’t even an empire any more, it was just a collection of powerful nobles vying for power with each other behind the scenes and only unifying at the chance to seize even more beyond its current boundaries. Dave wagered none of them could even remember when they had an emperor; it was most likely before they had even made contact with Ilium. But the fact remained that he couldn’t separate himself from this Alternia, not in good faith. What if it fell apart, what if the nobles descended on each other and the rest of the empire got pulled into their histrionics? He knew he wasn’t single-handedly preventing chaos from developing around them, but he still had to try. Once this Peixes business was over he probably wouldn’t even have to do much, so he didn’t know why Jade was so incensed, he thought in irritation. They could just live together on Eithaka, the dregs of the lands compared to what the other nobles had but still so beautiful and rich and it could be their _home_. And yet she remained steadfast. He liked her all the better for her refusal to compromise, but at the same time, compromise would make his life so much damn easier.

“Hello, Dave! What do you say to us blowing this joint and going out for a stroll in the city?” Jade chirped as she breezed into the room. The servants hadn’t even set the table yet.  

“That sounds wonderful. Too bad Dareus would have us lynched.” He shrugged and shot her a bemused you-really-should-have-thought-of-that look.

“That’s why he won’t find out!” She bounced up to him and took his arm. He barely restrained himself from flinching. He wasn’t really used to physical contact and she had never touched him before. Her demeanor was surprising in general, actually – he’d thought she was growing tired of talking to him, but here she was addressing him as a close acquaintance. Friend, even. “He _never_ finds out,” she continued in a conspiratorial whisper. Dave couldn’t help but smile in response to her mischievous grin.

“So you do this often?” he asked. He was surprised. Dareus didn’t seem like he was so unobservant as to let her sneak out from under his supervision frequently.

“Yes, whenever I can get away with it. I think Feferi’s noticed, but she never says anything. The rest of them have no clue. So, you coming?” She met his gaze, expression hopeful and cheerier than he’d ever seen before, and he knew there was no way he could say no to her.

“Absolutely. Lead the way, my lady.”

“Okay,” she laughed. “Just hold to my arm. And don’t freak out, okay?”

“Why would I –” Dave was cut off by the feeling of his entire body buzzing with an energy not natural to it. The scene around them was not the dark dining room any more, but a moonlit alleyway, garbage strewn everywhere. A cat mewled at them from the entry to the street. “Um,” he said eloquently. “Hold on a second.” He turned around and walked a few steps before his legs began to wobble. He leaned forward and vomited onto the ground. He registered Jade laughing behind him.

“It’s okay, I puked the first couple of times I did it too. Your body will take a while to acclimate to traveling instantaneously in space.” Well, that cleared up the mystery of limeblood psychic abilities, he thought. An obnoxious corner of his brain also thought _that implies she wants to do this with you more than once_ like a stupid lovestruck wiggler.

“Yeah, okay. Can our first adventure be to get a drink because the inside of my mouth tastes like moobeast shit right now and you probably don’t want a repeat performance of What Dave Had for Lunch,” he deadpanned. Jade erupted into a cacophony of giggle and snorts, which was fucking adorable, but not helping the nausea.

“Sure! Just follow me!” He turned around to see her thumbing towards herself with an expression meant to look knowledgeable and streetsmart but that just read as gleeful pride. She headed towards the mewbeast, which dashed away quickly before she could stretch her hand out to pet it. She frowned, slightly disappointed, but soldiered on, turning every few seconds to make sure Dave was following at his slower, teleportation-addled pace.

 


	5. 1.5

The two of them burst from the tavern door, Jade skipping so broadly that she soared over the steps and landed right on the muddy ground. A speck of dirt flew up onto Dave's face and he wiped it off, grimacing overdramatically as he descended the stairs at a deliberate pace. Jade snorted and rolled her eyes at his prissy act.

"Come on, Dave! I'm going to show you around. I think I'll start at the market first, since it closes in just a few hours, I think." At this, he balked even further, miming all his body movements as if he were in slow motion. Instead of responding, Jade just turned around and kept walking. "I'm going to teleport you next to me if you don't cut that out, mister!" she called over her shoulder.

"So, the market, huh?" Dave said a few seconds later from her side. She grinned at him, tugging his arm forwards and catching him up in her unabashed excitement. It soon came into view. It looked a sorry affair at first, dirty tarp hanging everywhere to block the rain and mark each stall, but it was bustling with activity and Dave spotted delicate gold chains lying out at one stall, exotic fruits at another - its appearance clearly belied the quality of its offerings. He headed towards one of the jeweller's stands, but noticed Jade was moving over towards the more basic goods, so he followed suit. She lingered in front of the fruit, ghosting her hands above the melons and some sort of furry-looking ovals.

"Missus Jade!" the fruit-seller roared and raised his arms as Jade beamed at him. "How are ya this fine night?"

Leaning forwards over the stall, she answered, "I'm good, Hrotha. Listen, have you gotten a shipment in of that red fruit? You know, with all the seeds? I can't remember what it was called, something eastern and unpronounceable. But they were so good, gosh, I've been thinking about them all this past perigee."

The burly man shook his head sadly. "Nah, girl, we don't have any a those yet. They's not so popular yet, y'know how people is, all afeared to be trying things from the less civilized parts a this fiefdom. Innit sad - as if I'd be supplyin' somethin that'd poison 'em! I got more sense'n that." He scowled and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Oh, drat! Well, I'll just try again next week, I suppose. See you later, Hrotha!" Jade spun off and headed for another stall. Dave nodded at the fruit-seller and moved to follow after her. The man shot him a knowing look.

"Yer a lucky man - though that'un's a right handful, but as she's the loveliest girl you'll see in this town," he said.

"Handful's an understatement," Dave replied, turning his back to the stall and jogging a little so as not to lose sight of Jade in the crowd. "Hey, wait up, will you!"

 

Everyone in this part of town seemed to know Jade, despite being unaware of her semi-royal status. Even the beggars and wanderers she greeted cheerily and would procure an apple or some such small food item from the folds of her sleeves. Dave wondered where they were being summoned from - maybe the kitchen back inside the palace. As he traipsed alongside her, attempting to look unattached while still remaining firmly in her vicinity, many of the people she greeted asked who her new "friend" was or merely waggled their eyebrows. At first it was embarrassing but soon enough he just went along with it and waggled his eyebrows back all the more vigorously.

"You weren't kidding about coming here often, huh," he murmured into her ear as they made their way down the main concourse and ducked around hoofbeast-drawn carts and hawkers.

"Of course I wasn't!" She shot him an injured look for even daring to question her moral fiber. "You think I'm going to waste my time in that palace, relegated to little more than weaving and occasionally sitting in on a feast just to look presentable for Dareus' sake?"

Dave smirked at that. "No, I suppose not," he agreed. "You should probably be more careful, though. Dareus likely sends agents down here sometimes, to do business and collect taxes. If they see you, you'll have a fun time explaining things to him." Jade just rolled her eyes and smacked him on the back. He coughed a little - she was a lot tougher than she appeared at first glance, and it wasn't like the first glance informed him she was a shrimp or anything either.

"I'm not stupid, Dave! I know how to handle myself." She looked around as they turned onto a less busy street. It was adjacent to the market they'd been at before, which was near to closing, the tarps slowly coming down one by one. "Hey, wanna race? To that streetpost at the end over there." She pointed down the length of the road. It was a fair distance away, but nothing he couldn't handle. He wasn't particularly known for his strength, but Dave was damned proud of his speed.

He hesitated. "Normally I'd say yes to anyone, but you're just going to teleport yourself to the finish. What's the point in trying?"

Jade puffed her cheeks out and poked him in the chest. Ouch, even that hurt a little bit. "I'm not gonna cheat! I promise. No funny space business. I swear on the names of my ancestors past." She did a little motion with her left hand that was an approximation of an old oath-taking ritual.

"All right, I'll do it. Here," he leaned down and picked up a discarded stick some child had likely been playing with before they'd grown tired of it, "this will mark our starting line. Get ready because I'm about to blow you out of the water, Harley."

"Fat chance!" She stretched a little bit and slipped into a starting position right on the line. Dave raised an eyebrow. It looked quite professional, actually. Perhaps her late hatchfather had taught her the way to race properly.

"All right, on my count of three. One -" here he too settled into position " - two, three, hey are those the pomegranates coming in?" He gestured towards the fruit stand, which was still up. Jade's head whipped towards the market and he shot off with all the speed his legs could muster, which was quite a lot. Not that he was bragging or anything.  

She realized his ruse pretty quickly and turned back to shout at him, but he was already quite a few feet ahead. "Dave, you asshole!" she screeched. He didn't pause to look behind and gloat, since he wasn't sure how easily she could catch up. By the sounds of her feet thumping in the ground behind him, she wasn't having much trouble. As the pole loomed ahead, he heard her breath ragged with exertion and irritation near behind him, and her hand brushed his shoulder in an attempt to stop his progress, so he put a little more effort into getting ahead and stretched his own arm forward to touch the pole. There, just a few feet more. "Augh!" he heard right behind him as his palm made contact with the steel. He leaned against it just the slightest bit, puffing slightly. It'd been a while since Dave had been in a race with a good opponent.

"You awful cheating bastard!" Jade was laying the abuse on him, but he could see by the twitch at the corner of her mouth that she was more amused than put off by his deception. "You have no principles."

"Hey, you promised not to cheat, but I never said anything about myself." Dave shrugged and she just slapped him on the shoulder.

"All right, buddy, let's get back to the palace before Dareus notices we've not been at our dinner," she said and grabbed his arm.

"Oh no, are we teleporting again? I don't think I have anything left in my stomach to bring back up," he grumbled.

Jade cocked her head at him and just said, "Oh, no, you do. Trust me," as green energy began to crackle around her body.

 

* * *

 

When he walked into the dining room the next night she was perched on the table, surrounded by all the courses. Nonplussed, Dave pulled his chair up and sat down.

“What’s up?” he asked, angling his head up to meet her abnormally subdued gaze.

“They’re announcing the decision tomorrow. For sure this time,” she answered, averting her gaze and twirling an unruly curl around her finger. “It’s going to be Zahhak. I overheard. Not that it wasn’t obvious already, but. You know. It’ll be official tomorrow.”

“Ah,” Dave merely said. He kept his gaze on her face, searching for some sort of indication of her motivation for bringing the topic up. He’d assumed she had no interest in Dareus and Feferi’s political dealings as she’d insinuated as much during their other conversations. He knew her opinion of Feferi was not as high as it could be. She respected her drive and wit, but disliked her methods.

“What if we –” Jade began, but stopped abruptly and looked down at him. Nervousness now manifested in her expression: eyes flickering from to and from his gaze, mouth screwed up sideways, eyebrows unable to decide where they wanted to settle on her forehead.

“If we what?” he asked calmly. There was something important on her mind, clearly, and he was determined to pull it out from her no matter how stubborn she insisted on being (as usual).

“I’m just saying, uh. What if we had our wedding on the same night?” His jaw dropped unconsciously.

His first reaction was to question. “Is this a joke?” he snapped. Her eyes widened at that.

“No! No, it’s not – why would you think that?”

He sighed and ran one hand through his hair. “Because you’ve been pretty much opposed to the idea from the start? Because you seem to have little interest in me romantically? Because you – whoa, hold on, what –” he cut off, suddenly noticing that Jade’s face was much closer than before. In fact, in was directly on his face. Their lips managed to meet after a few seconds. It was painfully awkward, but he enjoyed it more than any other he’d had if only for the pure exultance running through his mind in accompaniment.

“You’re pretty thickheaded for someone supposedly so smart, Dave Strider,” she managed to say after pulling back and regaining her breath. “I don’t smack around just _any_ man.” She winked at him, happy in having regained the upper hand in their discussion, and he laughed breathily.

“Okay, yeah. Yes. Definitely. Why the same day as Zahhak and Peixes, though?”

“Look, if I told Dareus about it and had him fix the wedding night, he’d invite everyone possible. He’s been hoping to get me saddled with someone for years. I know he means well but – I don’t want that. It’s way too much pressure. Plus, you know how I feel about nobles and events with lots of circumstance. If we were to arrange it for the same day, we could probably get away with performing the ceremony in a closet, that’s how many people would be attending.”

“Do you…want to have our matespritship ceremony in a closet?” Dave crooked an eyebrow at her.

“No, dummy!” Jade chided. “But I was thinking on the roof of the palace or something. And then you take me to your home and we never have to deal with these bozos again! Ooh, or I could just transport us over there. How much stuff did you bring?” She tapped her temple in contemplation.

“Ugh, no, please. Not the spacey powers,” he pleaded. “I’ve got a ship. It’s not that far away. I prefer my lunch on the inside of my stomach.” Seeing his genuine desperation, she hooted with laughter and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“You’re just a big sissy! I got over it on the third time. But I guess I can deal with that.” She smiled gently down at him and smoothed his hair back into place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I moved their romance a little fast but I'm tryna get to the war bits asap so. Sorry.


End file.
